Addressing those topics with the next generation of musicians is a step toward building a more welcoming music community for all. Music industry politics are still skewed in many places, from recording studios to festival stages, and building programs to support a wider diversity of artists is a necessary step toward changing that. Even writing about the obstacles themselves gets complicated: it’s crucial to identify and examine the issues, but at the same time, constantly asking artists to address gender’s role in their experiences or careers sometimes comes at the expense of discussing the art itself.
“I think so many of my friends who play in bands and address similar kinds of questions simultaneously wish we didn’t have to think about it at all,” said Dupuis. “I hadn’t really thought about my gender in relation to my music until I was getting asked about it all the time. It’s the kind of thing where we just have to get to a place where it’s normalized enough to have a variety of genders in one genre that’s previously been male-dominated so that this doesn’t become the pervading question.”
By highlighting women throughout the music industry and promoting a proactive approach to challenging bias, Girls Rock camps help campers develop the kind of self-assurance that helps whether making moves onstage or otherwise. According to Allen-Wiles, it makes a noticeable difference during every session. “You can definitely see it throughout the week, the girls being much more bold by themselves… girls not knowing each other on the first day and completely building each other up and collaborating and working as a team throughout the week, reaching out to other girls in class and in band and all these different things that happen,” she said. “[It’s] really powerful thing to watch, how proud the girls are of themselves and of the showcase and really taking up space on stage–going from being really shy on the first day to being like, ‘Are you ready to rooooock!?’ at Brighton Music Hall is a really amazing thing to watch.”
Catch Speedy Ortiz along with Downtown Boys and Ursula tonight, 12/9, at the Middle East Downstairs, along with a performance from Girls Rock Camp Boston bands Graveyard Shift, Skin Twin, and Nine Minutes.